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America Supports You: Elmo Visits Military Kids to Help With Deployment Stress

By Samantha L. QuigleyAmerican Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, June 26, 2008  Sunny days will be just around the corner when Elmo and his friends bring “The Sesame Street Experience” to 43 military installations to help children trying to cope with parents’ deployments.

Jillian Kules, 13 months, shows Leslye Arsht, deputy under secretary of defense for military community and family policy the new DVD she got June 26, 2008, at the launch of Sesame Workshop's "The Sesame Street Experience." Both the DVD and the live show were developed with the support of Arsht's office to help young military children cope with parents' deployments. Defense Dept. photo by Samantha L. Quigley(Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available.

Excited youngsters from the Andrews Air Force Base, Md., and Fort Belvoir, Va., child development centers who couldn’t wait to meet their TV friends got a sneak preview when the program launched here today.

The new live program adds a new dimension to Sesame Workshop’s “Talk, Listen, Connect,” DVDs for military children facing deployments, said Gary Knell, the Sesame Workshop’s president and chief executive officer. He compared the 60-minute program to an adult concert featuring “The King.”

“It’s sort of like an Elvis concert for 2-year-olds,” Knell said. “We’ll have Elmo and Rosita and Grover and Cookie Monster [and Zoe].”

While the show promises to be fun for all, it also has a serious purpose: to help young military children learn how to better handle a parent’s deployment. Few are better qualified to put that message into terms kids can understand than Sesame Street characters, said Leslye Arsht, deputy under secretary of defense for military community and family policy.

“The muppets have a way of talking to 3- to 5-year olds and their parents that talks right to the heart,” she said. “Nobody could do it like they can do it.”

When parents and children attend “The Sesame Street Experience,” the children learn and be entertained, and the parents will walk away with new tools to help their children.

“The packages that are going to come with the [performance] include both [Talk, Listen, Connect] DVDs, and some additional materials … that can guide the conversation that they need to have with their children,” Arsht said. “The real opportunity here is for military families to see that Sesame Workshop, like America, really cares about them and knows that being separated is really hard.

“And it is no matter how old you are, and we all need to learn strategies for coping and being strong and having courage around those difficulties,” she added.

While the Defense Department and corporations have lent support so that the Sesame Workshop could provide the content, it’s the partnership with United Service Organizations that will help get the muppets in front of their adoring fans.

“The way that we help is with our relationship with the military and our access to the bases,” said Ned Powell, USO president and chief executive officer.

“The Sesame Street Experience” is the second time USO has partnered with Sesame Workshop. “We did do the ‘Talk, Listen, Connect,’ program with Sesame Street earlier this year, and now we’re rolling out the tour,” he said.

It’s an exciting partnership, Powell added, explaining that working with Sesame Street has expanded its breadth of volunteers. “We go from [comedian] Robin Williams and [country singer] Toby Keith all the way to Elmo and Rosita,” he said.

But it’s all in a day’s work for both Sesame Street, which has educated children for 40 years, and USO, which supports troops.

“That’s our job, to help foster that peace of mind, as well as say thank you,” Powell said. “Why not say thank you to the littlest members of the armed forces.”

The USO is a supporter of America Supports You, a Defense Department program connecting citizens and companies with servicemembers and their families serving at home and abroad.

Children from the Andrews Air Force Base, Md., child development center pose for a photo with Sesame Street characters Rosita, Grover and Elmo on June 26, 2008. The muppets were in Washington to help the Sesame Workshop and the United Service Organizations launch "The Sesame Street Experience," the next piece in the workshop's program to help young military children cope with parents' deployments. Defense Dept. photo by Samantha L. QuigleyDownload screen-resolutionDownload high-resolution

Elmo, a Sesame Street character, sings to military children from the Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Naval Support Activity Washington, Anacostia Annex, and Fort Belvoir, Va., child development centers June 26, 2008, during a sneak preview of "The Sesame Street Experience" in Washington. The live performance is designed to help military children better understand and deal with their parents' deployments. Defense Dept. photo by Samantha L. QuigleyDownload screen-resolutionDownload high-resolution

Leslye Arsht, deputy under secretary of defense for military community and family policy, watches as Nancy Kules holds daughter, Jillian, 13 months, so can kiss her June 26, 2008, in Washington. The muppets were in Washington to help the Sesame Workshop and the United Service Organizations launch "The Sesame Street Experience," the next piece in the workshop's program to help young military children cope with parents' deployments. Nancy and her husband, former Army Capt. Ryan Kules, sat on the advisory board for “The Sesame Street Experience.” Captain Kules was medically retired from the Army after being injured serving in Iraq. Defense Dept. photo by Samantha L. QuigleyDownload screen-resolutionDownload high-resolution

Gary Knell, president and chief executive officer of Sesame Workshop, addresses those gathered in Washington for the launch of "The Sesame Street Experience," a live production designed to help military children cope with parents' deployments, June 26, 2008. The event included a preview of the 60-minute program featuring Sesame Street characters. The program will be presented on 43 military installations around the country by the end of the year. Defense Dept. photo by Samantha L. QuigleyDownload screen-resolutionDownload high-resolution

Children from the Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Naval Support Activity Washington's Anacostia Annex and Fort Belvoir, Va., child development centers anxiously await the arrival of Sesame Street characters Elmo, Rosita and Grover on June 26, 2008. The muppets were in Washington to help the Sesame Workshop and the United Service Organizations launch "The Sesame Street Experience," the next piece in the workshop's program to help young military children cope with parents' deployments. Defense Dept. photo by Samantha L. QuigleyDownload screen-resolutionDownload high-resolution

Lizzie Israel, 3, poses with Sesame Street characters Elmo, Rosita and Grover after they gave a sneak preview of their part of "The Sesame Street Experience," on June, 26, 2008. The launch of the live production designed to help military children cope with parents' deployments. The 60-minute program featuring Sesame Street characters will be presented on 43 military installations around the country by the end of the year. Lizzie's mom, Erin Streeter, works for the Department of Homeland Security. Defense Dept. photo by Samantha L. QuigleyDownload screen-resolutionDownload high-resolution